Offering a bird bath to wild birds is a great way to attract them to your yard. Making a water source available, year round, can definitely increase the potential for more backyard activity.

Giving wild birds extra resources, like a bird bath, comes with responsibility. First and foremost, the bird bath must be clean.

I clean my bird bath daily (and my feeders at every refill). So when my family faced multiple illnesses this week, on top of an urgently scheduled surgery, I knew what I had to do — I had to dump my bird bath.

Why I Dumped My Bird Bath

The reason why I dumped my bird bath was because I knew that I wouldn’t be able to maintain it.

Would you drink from a glass encrusted with build up, or worse, poop?!

Think about it. Would you drink from a glass encrusted with build up, or worse, poop?!

Didn’t think so!

In fact, the only thing I have going on for the wild birds in my yard are the plants and one hummingbird feeder. All of the other feeders have been emptied too and they’ll stay that way.

Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Image Credit: Animal Perspectives.

I kept the hummingbird feeder up because I knew that it would be easier to commit to than the daily bath cleaning and feeder cleaning.

Help Birds by Keeping Your Bird Bath Clean

Until everyone has recovered and I know that I can maintain the feeders and bath, at a level appropriate for wild birds, they’ll stay empty.

Keeping your wild bird station clean can help prevent the spread of diseases, such as House Finch Eye Disease. (I cover that topic in my book, “The 15-Minute Birder“.)